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Living Well Mom

Simple, easy, and natural ways to care for your family.

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Homemade Gak Recipe in Less than 5 Minutes

By Erika in Activities for Kids

slime STEM activityThis post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Jump to Recipe

Making homemade Gak is not only super easy to do, but it provides hours of entertainment for your kids. Plus, you can help your child apply some scientific principles as you make this together. How’s that for a major mom win?

blue gak slime on a styrofoam plate this idea now...

My oldest son, Nathan, loves science and is always asking to do experiments. His most recent interest is chemistry. So when he came home from his weekly science class with a recipe for Rubber Blubber aka Homemade Gak, to say he was excited is an understatement.

Using simple ingredients – borax, glue, and water – this easy Homemade Gak recipe is fascinating to watch as two liquids come together to form a solid. Or is it still a liquid? Because homemade Gak does move! Try it with your own kids and decide for yourself!

Easy DIY Gak for Kids

Another plus: this homemade Gak recipe takes less than 5 minutes to make! And it’s so easy to make, Nathan (he’s 10) can make it all by himself.

Homemade Gak is the perfect solution to keeping kids occupied on any rainy (or too hot) day.

One word of caution – with a tiny amount of borax in this recipe, I wouldn’t let small children (who may try to eat it) play with it. Instead, I recommend making homemade playdough (also easy and can be made in less than 10 minutes.)

Not only is making homemade Gak a cool science experiment, but it’s also just plain fun. My kids play for hours with their homemade Gak.

How to Make Homemade Gak:

Ingredients:

4 ounces school glue
1/2 cup water + 1/4 cup hot water
1/2 teaspoon Borax (you can find this in almost any store’s laundry detergent section)
food coloring – this food gel gives the best vivid colors and lasts a really long time.

*Note: this makes a nice amount of Gak; you can easily half the recipe and make two different colors.

supplies for DIY Gak

How to Make Homemade Gak in 4 Easy Steps

Step 1: Pour the glue into a small container with 1/2 cup of water…

child making DIY Gak

…and mix with a spoon.

stirring together glue and water

Step 2: Add the food coloring…

adding blue food coloring to glue mixture


…and stir in well.

stirring together glue and blue food coloring

Step 3: Dissolve 1/2 teaspoon of Borax with the remaining 1/4 cup of warm water.

Dissolving borax in warm water

Very important: stir until the borax is completely dissolved.

We didn’t let it dissolve completely one day and that batch was a failure. Oops!

If your Gak slime fails, this is almost certainly the reason why, so do your kids a favor and make sure it’s stirred completely. (You’ll save everyone, especially yourself a lot of hassle!)

borax disolved in water

Step 4: Pour the borax water into the glue mixture.

pouring borax water into blue glue to make diy gak slime

This is where it gets interesting. At first glance, it may look like your Gak experiment has failed, but stir it up and you’ll see the magic….er chemistry…happen.

stirring DIY Gak

Stir the gak until it’s become more solid and is forming around the spoon. Watch and be amazed. It is really cool.

homemade gak thickening

I recommend waiting to handle it until the food coloring is well mixed in. Nathan was a little eager to start playing with his homemade Gak and ended up with slightly blue hands.

That and he got excited and added a little too much food coloring to start with. Somehow that shouldn’t have surprised me.

Bright blue homemade gak

How to Use Gak

Kids can do so many fun things with Gak. Did you know it will bounce?

blue homemade Gak slime bouncing on a table

At the same time, gak will slowly spread.

boy holding blue gak in hand

it will also stretch, by the way!

stretching out blue homemade gak

And fold, of course! 😉

folding diy gak slime

Have fun making this homemade Gak recipe with your kids!

Family Essential ↓

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Print

Homemade Gak

homemade gak slime
Print Recipe

★★★★★

4.8 from 5 reviews

  • Author: Erika Bragdon
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Total Time: 5 mins

Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 ounces school glue
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup hot water
  • 1/2 teaspoon Borax
  • food coloring

Instructions

  1. Mix the glue and 1 /2 cup of water together. Add the food coloring. Set aside.
  2. In a measuring glass, dissolve 1/2 teaspoon Borax with 1 / 4 cup of warm water. Stir until it’s completely dissolved.
  3. Add the borax water to the glue mixture and mix well, until the Gak forms a blob around your spoon.
  4. Have fun!

Notes

Note: Make sure you 100% dissolve the borax in water before adding to the glue or the recipe will FAIL!

Frequently Asked Questions about Making Gak:

1. How long does Gak last?

My son’s batch lasted for over a month before he left it out and I threw it away. I would say a month to be safe, but it would likely be fine for longer.

2. I can’t find any Borax. Can I still make this recipe?

Borax is an essential ingredient in the consistency of this recipe. Without Borax,it will not be the same. You could definitely give it a try but I just don’t know how it would turn out. On another note, you can find Borax at Walmart, grocery stores, etc. – it’s by the laundry detergent and pretty cheap too. You can also try this borax-free dish soap slime recipe. It has a different texture and won’t last as long.

3. Do I need to store the Gak in the refrigerator?

We never refrigerate it and in our experience, it’s lasted at least a month or so.

If you loved this project, I highly encourage you to try this fun variation – Snowflake Glitter Slime.

Pin the image below to save the homemade gak recipe for later.

collection of images from homemade gak slime recipe

Dear mom, I have so much more I’d love to share with you…

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    Filed Under: Activities for Kids, Playdough and Slime, Sensory Activities Tagged With: slime, STEM activityPublished on November 13, 2020

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    About Erika

    Erika Bragdon is a second-generation homeschooling mom with 3 kids at home and 1 in college. She lives in the beautiful hills of New Hampshire on a small farm and loves writing, baking, nature, and sharing flower essences and more natural solutions with moms.

    Comments

    1. Nichol says

      May 14, 2013 at 2:07 pm

      I had no clue you could make this. I buy the kids GAK because they love it. So doing this with them!

      Reply
      • Erika says

        May 14, 2013 at 8:15 pm

        I used to buy it too, Nichol. I was so excited when I found this recipe and discovered how easy it is too!
        Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

        Reply
        • Crystal says

          August 2, 2013 at 9:55 am

          I was wondering how long the Gak lasts. I want to make it and separate it into sandwich baggies as party favors for my daughter’s 6th birthday party, but I also want to make sure to put a label on the baggies to let parents know when to toss it. We are also making homemade playdough, with a recipe that lasts up to 3 months.

          Reply
          • Erika says

            August 2, 2013 at 11:30 am

            My son’s batch lasted for over a month before he left it out and I threw it away. Haha. I would say a month to be safe, but it would likely be fine for longer. Great idea for party favors! Have fun!
            Thanks for stopping by!

            Reply
        • Kasalina says

          July 14, 2016 at 12:43 am

          I think I had did it wroung it still soo watery??

          ★★★★★

          Reply
          • Erika says

            July 14, 2016 at 10:29 am

            Oh how disappointing! It’s crucial that you dissolve every single tiny bit of borax or it won’t work properly. I’m working on a simpler version though so stay tuned!

            Reply
          • Freddy says

            August 6, 2016 at 6:19 pm

            You prolly did the same thing I did and followed to close to instructions sub lining the pictures on Step One “Step 1: Pour the glue into a small container with the 4 ounces of water…” I took the 4 ounces of water as all the water but upon reading the final instructions I found out where i went wrong. MIX EACH SEPARATE and there is no 4 ounces of water. lol thank you for this article…may want to fix step 1 though its a bit confusing.

            Reply
            • Erika says

              August 7, 2016 at 10:42 am

              Thanks for pointing this out, Freddy. I updated the instructions. 🙂

              Reply
        • Samantha says

          February 11, 2017 at 12:13 pm

          Is the elmers glue, the white glue or the elmers glue in the brown bottle and it looks like honey!??

          Reply
    2. Whitney says

      May 15, 2013 at 2:22 am

      I have got to make this for my oldest!

      Reply
    3. Danielle says

      May 16, 2013 at 10:29 am

      This looks like so much fun!! And very similar to the recipe we used for homemade bouncy balls last year so I’m sure I still have all of the ingredients on hand.

      Reply
    4. Amber Edwards says

      May 16, 2013 at 10:38 am

      My boys love GAK! We are going to make this as soon as school gets out for summer next week! They are super excited!

      Reply
    5. Crystal says

      May 16, 2013 at 10:42 am

      This is awesome. Perfect for a summer activity for my children. Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
    6. Linette says

      May 16, 2013 at 11:47 am

      My son would love this! We’ll have to make some this summer!

      Reply
    7. Shannon Schmid says

      May 28, 2013 at 11:00 pm

      You are a featured on tonights link up! http://milkandcuddles.com/2013/05/best-wednesday-linky/ Thank you for joining our linky and we hope you link up more!

      Reply
      • Erika says

        June 5, 2013 at 7:34 am

        Thanks, Shannon! I’m honored. 🙂

        Reply
    8. Marek Novak says

      July 1, 2013 at 6:21 pm

      Howdy! Someone in my Facebook group shared this site with us so I came to check it out.
      I’m definitely loving the information. I’m bookmarking and will be tweeting this to my followers!
      Wonderful blog and fantastic design and style.

      Reply
    9. David Smith says

      December 6, 2013 at 1:42 pm

      My son used to like this stuff when he was younger. If I had known that we could make it ourselves, that would have been fun to make with him and we would have saved a little money since every school year we always found glue for dirt cheap. Thanks for the recipe and info.

      Reply
    10. Sandy says

      September 19, 2014 at 10:56 pm

      Hi! I would love to make this for my children, but I can’t get any Borax. Is it necessary? My kids are so sad, please say we don’t need it!! Please respond 🙂

      Sandy
      Mom of 6 kids (A lot, right?)

      Reply
      • Erika says

        September 21, 2014 at 2:27 pm

        Sandy, thanks for stopping by! Borax is actually an essential ingredient in the consistency. Without Borax, I don’t think it would be quite the same. You could definitely give it a try but I just don’t know how it would turn out. On another note, you can find Borax at Walmart, grocery stores, etc. – it’s by the laundry detergent and is pretty cheap too. Hope that helps!

        Reply
      • sue says

        February 17, 2016 at 11:44 am

        I found borax at Dollar general for 4$ Big box of it.

        ★★★★★

        Reply
      • applesnoranges says

        January 22, 2017 at 7:34 pm

        Liquid detergent will work in place of the Borax. You can find many recipes online for making it this way. I would estimate that for this recipe you’d replace the Borax dissolved in water with 1/4 cup liquid detergent. (The detergent needs to contain Borax. Most of the major brands do)

        Reply
      • Kelli Ott says

        August 3, 2018 at 8:58 am

        Mix a Tsp of Baking Soda with the glue and then instead of Borax use a Tbsp of Contact Lens solution containing Boric Acid. My recipe didn’t call for water but the GAK is not very fluid either…

        Reply
    11. Sarah says

      January 28, 2015 at 2:57 am

      I’d love to watch the video of Nathan playing with the Gak, but when I click on it, it just says, “This video is private” 🙁

      Reply
    12. Melissa says

      March 1, 2015 at 5:36 pm

      I just made this for my kids. Especially my son who has Autism and uses GAK at school on a daily basis. I was wondering of it needs to be refrigerated or kept out at room temperature? As how long will it last in the containers?

      Thank you, Melissa

      Reply
    13. Natalie says

      July 12, 2015 at 5:10 pm

      My kiddos and I just made this!! It’s all kinds if awesomeness!!!

      Reply
    14. Lucy says

      December 23, 2015 at 9:50 am

      I made glow in the dark and glitter gal bit I didn’t use borax. I have allergies so any dust or powder and I start sneezing. I used liquid starch instead. One of my two girls love it. Both are Autistic so it’s a greatv way to keep them busy while making it and after while playing with it. Great for sensory play

      ★★★★

      Reply
    15. applesnoranges says

      January 22, 2017 at 7:32 pm

      Liquid detergent will work in place of the Borax. You can find many recipes online for making it this way. I would estimate that for this recipe you’d replace the Borax dissolved in water with 1/4 cup liquid detergent. (The detergent needs to contain Borax. Most of the major brands do)

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Erika says

        January 23, 2017 at 10:25 am

        Thank you for the tip!

        Reply
    16. Stephan Heumann says

      April 9, 2017 at 9:59 am

      This stuff has practical uses too—of course! I’m a dad (my 12-year-old and i had fun making it) and as a cashier (and semi-retired medical-device engineer) I’m trying to mitigate the hazards and harmful effects of the free (reactive and absorbable) BPA and BPS that is present in substantial quantities on receipt paper.
      I’ll be using gak to clean my hands when i don’t have time to use soap and water. (Hand sanitizer with alcohol has been shown to accelerate absorption of BPA into the bloodstream by making the skin more permeable to it.)
      Live well!
      Stephan
      Mountain View, CA

      Reply
      • Erika says

        April 11, 2017 at 9:07 pm

        Hi Stephan, I’ve never heard of using GAK to sanitize your hands before. That’s fascinating! Thanks for sharing. 🙂

        Reply
    17. 10 Aarti says

      May 1, 2017 at 3:47 am

      This is awesome for summer time! my kids would love it. Thanks for sharing.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    18. Christina says

      July 15, 2017 at 8:33 am

      I made the Gak with my grandkids and it turned out great! This is the best recipe I have found. Thank you for mentioning the importance of dissolving the Borax thoroughly, my grandkids really enjoyed it!

      Reply
      • Erika says

        July 15, 2017 at 11:15 am

        I’m so glad to hear it. Thanks for telling me!

        Reply
    19. Kate says

      September 16, 2017 at 1:05 am

      Hi tried to make this the other day and it turned out like chopped up poached eggs deffiently not like GaK plz help my children love GaK but we cannot find it any where!

      Reply
      • Erika says

        September 17, 2017 at 2:13 pm

        I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you, Kate. I’ve never heard of it being super dry like that before. Some people have had a bad batch when the borax isn’t dissolved all the way. Did you use the right quantity of water? if it’s too dry, that’s the only thing I can think of to troubleshoot.

        Reply
    20. Susan says

      February 6, 2018 at 11:04 am

      I can’t wait to try this recipe!!

      Reply
    21. Josie says

      April 10, 2021 at 12:43 pm

      Wow! this looks so much fun and easy too. I will have to try this. Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
    22. Tm Supportwave says

      April 10, 2021 at 12:49 pm

      I appreciate your style & the sweet sense of this recipe & now I’m going to try it right now. Have great luck!

      Reply
      • Erika says

        April 14, 2021 at 4:51 pm

        Have fun!

        Reply
    23. Eliz says

      February 16, 2022 at 8:14 pm

      Hey Erika!
      I have this a go but wasn’t stretchy,more just split.When I let it sit it almost melted back together a bit.
      Was wondering if you had any tips?
      I made sure I dissolved the borax as I read the tips before starting…
      The boys will probably still enjoy playing with it!!
      Thanks

      Reply
      • Erika says

        February 21, 2022 at 10:47 am

        Oh no! The only time we’ve had issues with this slime recipe not working correctly is when we’ve not dissolved the borax. Did you eyeball it carefully to make sure there wasn’t a hint of it left? What kind of glue did you use? Regular school glue? (I’m assuming so, but just trying to cover bases.) Thanks for your comment – this helps me troubleshoot for others too! I hope your boys still enjoy it!

        Reply
    24. MaryJane says

      March 29, 2022 at 10:46 am

      Can I start dissolving the borax in warm water the night before??

      Reply
      • Erika says

        August 15, 2022 at 5:08 pm

        I wouldn’t try this. The water will cool and the recipe may not work as well.

        Reply

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    Welcome! I’m Erika and I’m the creator behind Living Well Mom.

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